An Attempt of the Impossible
by Vixin2
Summary: In which I attempt to make the crossover fanfiction everyone has always wanted to read. I own nothing nothing but my ocs from my other Slendervlog stories. MarbleHornets, TribeTwelve, Everymanhybrid.
1. Beginning

**Well, I've decided to try the impossible. Let's see how far I can go, shall we? Please review. I'd appreciate it. And also check out my Marble Hornets, Tribe Twelve and Everymanhybrid storeis as well please. All my oc's are mine.**

* * *

To say that Vince was suffering from a deep loneliness and depression would be a bit of an understatement. He was alone now as far as he saw it. Well, except for the viewers maybe.

Evan was beyond help; possibly possessed, no, definitely possessed by a demon or ghost named Habit that had a weird fetish for rabbits and the number seven. Then there was Jeff. He was... He was gone. Vince didn't know if he was dead or not at the current time. But what he did know was that Habit had him. At least, that's what it seemed like. Claire might as well be dead. She was under the Slenderman's control and was now his proxie, under the title of, 'The Witch'. It was against her free will of course and Vince occasional wondered if she could see what she was doing or if it would only haunt her dreams when she finally snapped out of it. If she did at all that is. And Steph? Hell, Vince had no clue where the hell she was. She could have been in a different state for all he knew.

Checking out the shack at Baldpoint was perhaps one of the most strange (to put it in a lighter way) thing to happen. At first at least. It started out simple enough with him somehow moving in between his house and the houses of his three missing best friends, but when the Slenderman started to appear, it was more or less just plain disturbing and terrifying.

The sudden appearance of Dr. Corenthal was the only good thing that came out of it since he saved him. However, even that was fucking weird.

Though shooting the Slenderman was the equivalent of shooting Cthulhu, so that was pretty badass.

But one question was stuck in Vince's mind.

Why the hell did the doctor leave him in some sort of tunnel?

Vince could only look around the walls, staying still in place as he tried to figure out what to do next. He wasn't too sure which way to go exactly, and after what had just happened he could only imagine what the wrong direction would lead him.

"I should... I should check the time", Vince said to himself as he rummaged through his pockets for his phone. After what had happened to him, he felt it only right to know how long he was gone for. However, seeing the date on the phone brought tremendous shock.

The date said it was about a quarter to three, October 12th, 2012.

"No, frickin' way", Vince muttered, but there was no way he could deny this.

Thinking on it, denying things is possibly the reason he was here right now. Evan and Claire were clearly suffering from something. Hell, Claire confessed to him face to face she woke up with blood on her hands! Literally! And he just tried to tell his redhead friend it was a hallucination from lack of sleep! Even that should have been an indicator! And Evan? The viewers knew he was a nutjob, but himself and the others were just so use to Evan's behaviour that he didn't put too much thought into it. Though in retrospect, when Claire and Jeff noticed it he should have considered it himself. But no, he wanted to keep everyone together.

* * *

For Jay and Rebecca, these last few months were hell.

For a moment, it seemed like they had finally found Tim and they would be able to get out of the square they were trapped in more or less.

However, no sooner had they seen him had he vanished. They even found the mental health clinic he was going to and waited outside for months. But he never showed up. This worried them both greatly. Though it affected Rebecca a bit more since the brunette had a deep affection for Tim... Even if the Masky side showed his affection in a creepy way towards her sometimes.

However, when they received a box with some tapes from the Marble Hornets shoot a few years back, it had given them a lead.

As well as strengthened their new belief that Alex was a psychopath trying to murder them both.

But there was also the abandoned hospital. It was difficult to find but they found it eventually. Though neither of them ever wanted to return after they went through the maintenance tunnel. They didn't see why the hooded person couldn't have just given them Tim's medical file instead of being a jerk and giving the Slenderman a chance to get them.

After looking through said file, they knew that Tim was being disturbed, and finding him was a must.

With little option, they had to go to Rosswood Park, and find the tunnel Alex had single-handedly with a rock murdered a man.

But first, the mill Alex tried to murder them at.

"Okay, so let's see. There's no bullet on the ground... so either that was taken by Alex or Tim, or it got caught in one of them", Rebecca stated thoughtfully as she looked at the floor closely, kicking some straw wood away.

"Well, Tim seemed fine when we spotted him, so it might have hit Alex", Jay pointed as he walked around the stairs and looked up at the metal roof. "Hey, there's a hole up there. It looks about the size a bullet could make".

"You sure?", Rebecca asked as she moved over to Jay and looked at the small hole that Jay was pointing to. "You sure about that? I meant, I'm no expert but can a bullet even pass through metal that thin?"

"Well, I'm no expert either, but they were standing here and judging by the angle the bullet could have ended up being aimed there", Jay said.

"Have you ever considered doing CSI stuff?", Rebecca asked in a half-hearted attempt of humour.

"I would probably cause more damage after the crime was committed", Jay replied with a small smile that only lasted a moment. "If that hole was made by the bullet, then that means-"

"Alex is still around", Rebecca stated. She could only imagine what her older brother would do when he finds them again. Nothing pleasant is what she would guess.

"Yeah", Jay mumbled as he looked around for the tenth time that day. "Let's get going and find that tunnel before it get's too dark".

"Here, here", Rebecca mumbled as she went to go down the stairs, Jay just behind her. Being October, Rosswood was empty of visitors and the path was damp with water making it slightly muddy and making some leaves stick to the soles of their shoes.

However, this trip was going to have a slight twist to it that they never saw coming in a million decades.

* * *

Vince had only stood there for a few more minutes. He looked towards both ends of the tunnel and considered which would be safer. One end gave him a bit of a bad vibe. The other seemed alright. Although, he then had to think over if that was what someone wanted to him to think, or even if it was all in his mind. So maybe he should go left. Then again, right might actually lead him somewhere where he can get an answer to what to do. Though there was always a chance, slim as it may be, that Habit could be there, ready to strike. An encounter Vince would like as much as a conservative Christian would like a hooker. But then again-

"Hey!"

Vince turned around and saw two people there. The first was a skinny man around his twenties. How old exactly was uncertain but definitely older than Vince himself. His hair was a lightish brown and his eyes were a bit spaced apart. The other was a girl who seemed to be about Vince's age, albeit she was kinda short. Her hair was a dark brown tied back in a ponytail and something the two people had in common were the dark shadows under their eyes. A clear sign of sleep deprivation.

"Are you okay?", the guy asked, in an unsure tone. He seemed hesitant to ask him. Almost like he was expecting Vince to retaliate violently.

"Err... I'm not sure how to answer that to be honest", Vince admitted sheepishly, and how could he.

"What's with the camera?", the girl asked, her eyes locked on the camera Vince was holding. Strangely enough, Vince only noticed now that these two strangers were holding camera too.

"Er, I'm filming for... Have you seen a guy about my age, taller and has sort of curly hair? OR a girl with short, red hair?", Vince questioned. He would leave Evan out for the moment, and Stephanie too for now. "Their names are Jeff Koval and Claire Welmer".

"Er... Noo", the guy replied slowly. "Are they... missing?"

"Well... yeah".

Everyone stayed quietly. Maybe a part of them instantly knew the other was being haunted by something? If that was the case, they couldn't just blurt it out. It would just make them look insane.

No. There had to be a subtle way to bring the subject up.

_Ring_

Everyone was a little surprised by the sudden sound, but the light-haired man quickly pulled out his phone which was the source of the sound.

"Who is it?", the brunette asked, briefly looking at her friend before looking back to Vince.

"No idea", the man responded before he accepted the call and turned around briefly. Although it was rude, Vince couldn't help but faintly over here the caller. It was difficult, but he was certain he could make out the word, 'leave'.

"Alex?", the girl asked no one particular and Vince cringed briefly at the thought of one of his best friends brother, who was also a friend of his. Alex didn't deserve to go out the way he did, but at least he would be with his parents again. Thinking on it now, Vince felt annoyed at how Jeff tried to downplay his brother's obvious mental condition, but then again Vince could have done something more to convince Jeff to get help for his brother, especially since he wouldn't listen to Evan or Claire.

While Vince was having his little thoughts, Jay and Rebecca talked.

"How the hell does he know we're here?", Rebecca asked Jay sharply, her hands shaking slightly.

"I don't have any idea", Jay said, looking around him in slight paranoia. "But maybe we should just see what's at the end of the tunnel".

"What about the guy who looks vaguely like the late Billy Mays but younger?", Rebecca brought up as she took a quick glance at the man who seemed lost in his own thoughts. Her description was more or less correct, and the man also wore glasses.

"Well, he might be dealing with the same thing we are", Jay said. "Maybe... maybe we could at least ask-"

"And how do we know he'll help us?", Rebecca asked as she narrowed her eyes slightly. "Face it Jay, we haven't had much luck with getting help lately".

"I know, but we can't let this slip", Jay said, being a bit stubborn to some of Rebecca's annoyance. He looked over to the stranger and asked,

"Are you lost or something?"

"Well, am I still at Baldpoint?"

Vince felt a bit nervous when he saw the pair both frown. He must be somewhere else in Jersey.

"No, we're in Rosswood Park. Well, the woods of the nature trail actually", the male responded, looking at him with puzzlement. Vince furrowed his eyebrows at the name. He never heard of it before.

"Er, could you be more specific? I never really heard that name before and I've lived in New Jersey all my life". Vince felt anxiety the moment the brunette girl mouthed a swear word while her friend's mouth dropped slightly.

"New... New Jersey?", he repeated.

"Er... Yeah...?", Vince answered. He felt nervous. He was still in New Jersey... wasn't he?

"Errr... This isn't Jersey. This is Alabama".

"Wh-what?!" Vince hadn't meant to raise his voice, which made the pair across from him flinch. But could he blamed? Not only had he been missing for seven months roughly, but he was now in another state! On the other side of the country! How could he not be shocked?

"Um... You alright?", Rebecca asked hesitantly. The look on this man's face seemed to show that he was not meant to be here. At all.

"I... I..." After a few more minutes, the man gave a nervous chuckle. "You will not believe what has just happened to me".

"Vice versa here more or less", Jay responded bluntly, and it was the truth.

Vince took a few steps towards the pair.

"This is... this is definitely not New Jersey? It's... Alabama?"

"Yeah?", the girl said.

"Okay, well... I'm sorry if this is inconvenient. But can you give me directions out of here, and to the nearest town-"

"OH FUCK!", Rebecca shrieked suddenly, being the first to spot the Slenderman. He was just a little behind the dark-haired man and no sooner had she shrieked did both men look to the the tall fiend.

They gave into their first instinct and began to run.

Vince was terrified as hell. For the love of God he had only escaped that damn thing and now it shows up again?! What the hell! Although he figured they wouldn't want him to, Vince followed the pair since they appeared to (hopefully) know the area well enough to get out of here. Whether or not they noticed he was running after him, they didn't complain and so he just dodged trees and jumped over logs as they did, trying not to slip in the muddy spots that were a bit worse than normal and making sure he didn't fall.

That was a mistake often made in horror movies.

* * *

The pair did know a way out thank God. It took some time but they were soon in a parking lot that was a decent enough distance away from the woods. They stopped by a car Vince assumed was owned by one of the pair and they reclaimed their lost breath. Vince was shaking a bit, but that was to be expected. Though whether it was from running or fear was uncertain.

"You okay?", Vince looked up at the guy. He looked genuinely concerned and Vince nodded before saying,

"Ye-yeah. Thanks".

"Has... has that thing been... After you as well", the girl asked. She seemed nervous about asking that question, and Vince almost chuckled because of it.

"Yeah, and my friends".

"He's taking them as well?", the guy asked. By the sounds of it, that seemed to be a recurring theme with him and the girl. At least, that's what Vince though. Vince wasn't too sure how to answer the question to people he had just met so he thought over his answer first.

"...Well, he has one of them. As far as I know", Vince answered. It wasn't a lie. The Slenderman had Claire, Habit didn't seem to like him and had Jeff. Stephanie could be anywhere, but in her condition it was not really a good thing. Well, actually it would be more Stephanie and her baby considering how it was now October.

Vince returned to reality and asked,

"So, can I have your names".

"...I'm Jay, and that's Rebecca", Jay answered, as he introduced himself and Rebecca. Vince held his hand out to shake as he said,

"I'm Vince, or Vinnie. Either way works".

* * *

In the state of Florida, two young adults were dealing with their own problems.

"Noah, will you please come out", Rachel asked through the closed and locked door. Ever since Noah declared that he and Rachel were not going to get the journal, he's been staying in his room and staying in bed. He wasn't exactly moody enough to lash out at Rachel (which wouldn't work too well since Rachel would just lashback if she felt it necessary) though he did with one or two people on Formspring. He rarely came out of his room except for food or the bathroom, but even then he rarely talked to Rachel.

In layman's term, he had pretty much gone emo.

"Look, this isn't healthy for you", Rachel tried again when Noah didn't respond. The dark blonde haired woman was about to add something else when she heard Noah say something.

"Leave me alone".

Rachel scowled in annoyance but she walked away. She had lost how many times she's tried today and yesterday, but she can always try again later.

Sitting at the kitchen table, Rachel rested her head on it as she sat on one of the chair s and closed her eyes. If there was anything she could have done to cheer Noah up, and protect him from the cult that was known to them as, 'The Collective', Rachel would do whatever it took.

No matter what.

* * *

**So how was that?**


	2. A Proxie and a Murderer

**Habit will feature in this chapter along with my oc Claire. Hopefully I kept Habit in charecter.**

* * *

"Okay, so you've been having the same problem as us more or less, except with a lot more, erm..."

"Death?", Rebecca suggested for Jay, as the two of them and Vince sat in the hotel bedroom the pair had been staying in for months now. Having left Rosswood, the pair brought Vince with them to their hotel. While it was somewhat awkward in a sense, it also felt good to talk about this to someone else. Hopefully this wouldn't end the same way it did with Jessica and Amy.

"Well yeah", Vince replied, nodding his head.

"Okay, okay... and, your friend, Claire was it?", Rebecca asked.

"Is pretty under his control", Vince answered. "And Evan's possessed and I have no clue where the hell Jeff or Steph are".

"I see".

Everyone was quiet again. None was too sure what to say now, but the silence was soon broken by Jay who asked,

"Well, how often have you seen... Him?"

"The Slenderman? Er, not too often to be honest. Usual weird stuff happens and we wouldn't really see the cause. Besides him it's been that murderer and the Rake".

"The what?"

"What the fuck is a Rake?"

Vince cringed slightly since he forgot to mention the Rake earlier. Though the blood thirsty creature was possibly still in Jersey so what were the odds it would come here? But they did have the right to know, and it has been seven months and so who was to say the creature didnt migrate?

"Er, it's sort of... human shaped, but greyish... And black eyes... and claws... And it sort of has a taste for blood", Vince explained.

"Well... isn't that just fucking great", Rebecca grumbled as Jay looked nervous. "I'm really looking forward to meeting this thing".

"It's could still be in New Jersey for all we know", Vince said quickly.

"That's true", Jay murmured. "So, your pretty much stuck in square one like us then?"

"I guess", Vince said. "Why? You guys looking for someone?"

"Amy, Jessica, Tim...", Jay started off.

"Alex a.k.a my crazy older brother who tried to kill us. Then there's like three other people off of Alex's filming crew a few years back but I think one of them might be dead", Rebecca finished off.

"Wow, erm... That's... really something", Vince said. "So, what are we going to do now?"

"How about this. Me and Rebecca will help you as best as we can, if you help us", Jay offered. If there was a chance for more help, he wanted to take the chance while it presented itself.

Vince thought about the offer. He wasn't too sure how exactly he was going to find Stephanie, and assuming Jeff was being held by Habit looking for him and Evan was about as clever as a man streaking through a nunnery. Claire... Well, Claire might be able to fight off some control, but in reality finding her would be just as impossible. But, maybe finding these other missing people might help.

"Okay. I'm in", Vince confirmed. "Where do we start?"

"Well, let's just take it easy for a day or two. If Alex saw us in the woods, then maybe it would be a good idea to not go outside for a bit", Rebecca suggested.

"Makes sense. I guess", Vince said.

* * *

Back in New Jersey, deep in some woods was a small, wooden. There was no furniture except for broken wood on the floor and dust, and the way that nearly everything had dust on it and the homes of web spiders made on the grimy windows made it seem like the place was uninhabited.

But it was.

In a corner of the shack sat a young woman in her early twenties with dark red hair that at one point was only a little more than jaw length but now went to her shoulders in a tangled mess, along with dark shadows were under her now dull green eyes.

This was Claire. Emphasis on the 'was'. She was just a shell of her former shelf. A proxie of the Slenderman. Why he didn't make it permanent like this ages ago was a mystery but there was nothing for Claire to do but follow orders and drink to numb the amount of death she had seen and caused. If it was necessary was questionable since if she were to ever snap out of it, she would likely not remember anything. Just like she hardly remembers her old life.

But right now, Claire was drinking some red wine, or vin rouge as she would have called it. She would not have any work untill nightfall so she couldn't get too intoxicated. Not unless she wanted to mess up and get punished. Even if she was somewhat emotionally dead in this state she still feared the burning pain she received inside her head as punishment.

Claire brought the glass away from her lips as she heard footsteps and began to think. It wasn't Slenderman. He would normally just appear, and even if he did walk, he was normally too quiet for her to hear. It could have been one of the members of the Collective, Observer she thought his name was, but she seldom saw him and doubted he would come now.

Claire's hold on the bottle got tighter when a certain someone came to mind.

"Hey, Witch! How's it going, sister?", Habit asked in a cheerful tone as he slammed the door of the shack open. Oh, what Claire would do to him if she could.

"Still playing mute, eh? No biggie", Habit said casually as he strolled right on in. Claire didn't respond and just gulped down what was in her wine glass before standing up. She kept the bottle in her hand though. Just incase.

"So. I was just browsing around the internet for stuff, and it was starting to get boring so I was considering for a second about maybe finding some snuff films or some porn", Habit started off on his oh so wonderful story. "But I was checking Twitter and wouldn't you know it, Vince is back!"

Claire raised an eyebrow, but inside she was ecstatic.

"And here's the best part. When the doctor and Vinnie were done playing house, the doc dropped him off in Alabama!"

Claire made a motion with her hand for him to continue. She didn't talk as Witch. At least not often. She couldn't actually remember when she talked last since April. Habit seemed to understand her none the less so he went on.

"He's now with this pussy and some girl with a gutter mouth. But never mind that, that's boring right now. Did you see the video I posted. Of Jeff?"

Claire clenched her jaw a little and nodded. Damn well she saw the video. A video of what was possibly her friend's last moments of life.

"It was fucking awesome!", Habit laughed. "You should have seen him. He was trying not to scream at all, but when I brought the knife down on his hand, OH did her scream!"

Claire took out her phone and texted something quickly. What she wanted to say next would be something she could use her own version of a sign language for. When finished, she showed it to Habit.

_'the music sounded like it was from an awkward gay dance club'_

Habit just chuckled.

"Your just jealous because you never add cool music to any of your videos".

Claire just rolled her eyes before she made a movements with her hand in a 'why' motion before pointing at Habit and then holding her arms out to gesture around the shack.

"Why am I here?"

Claire nodded.

"Weelllll, I was getting bored, and I heard your boss is having you going on a fun trip tonight, so I wanna tag along". Habit grinned while Claire inwardly paled. It was bad enough she had to kill people and kidnap children, but bringing Habit along was even worse.

Claire just shuck her no.

"No?"

Claire shuck her head again.

"I see, I see", Habit said. "Well, after seeing what I'm capable of after little Jeffy, I guess I can sorta see why you wanna go solo. Only, one problem though".

Before Claire could ask, Habit grabbed her throat and pushed her against the wall. Gone was Habit's happy smile, now replaced with a malice smirk.

"You don't have a say in the matter, you little slut. Chuckles doesn't mind me comin' along now and then so you can't say no", Habit told her, finishing off in a sing-song voice. Claire just glared as she tried to ignore the lack of air coming to her lungs and with a firm grip on her wine bottle, she smashed it on the side of Habit's head. While Habit did loosen his grip in surprise, he didn't seem physically harmed in any way. But it was enough for Claire to shove Habit off of her.

"You really shouldn't have done that", Habit growled. He glared up at the red-head before chuckling. "Man, if I was'nt planning on fucking Stephanie first when I get my hands on her, I would just shove you back on that wall and see how long it'll take to make you scream".

Claire just glared and dropped the broken half of the green glass bottle on the floor and walked over to the small backpack that had a second bottle of wine in it.

"You planning on sharing? Sharing is caring Witchy". Claire scowled and just shoved the bottle into his hands before reaching into her pockets for a cigarette, having a real urge to smoke right now.

"Isn't it ironic, how you and your friends were doing a web series originally dedicated to health, and yet you're a smoker and now close to becoming an alcoholic?", Habit asked, though it seemed to be there more to mock Claire then anything. Claire just ignored him as she lit her cigarette up and took a deep inhale from it.

"So, how long you been staying in this crap shack for again?", Habit asked before he broke the top off the wine bottle. Claire held her cigarette in her mouth a held up five fingers and two thumbs.

"Seven days?"

Claire made a raising up motion with one hand.

"Seven months?"

Claire nodded.

"Most be pretty lousy then. 'Specially since winter will be here soon", Habit commented as he took more than a generous gulp from the wine bottle. "... Still prefer beer. Or soda. Wine tastes like vinegar to me, and that's only as good as salt. You know, to rub into the wounds".

Claire just shrugged her shoulders in response.

"Well, you can always move in with me. It'd be good to have someone other then numb nuts. But if your only going to kill when your boss says, then your just going to have to stay in the room Jeff was in, and it smells like shit with all the blood and stuff".

Claire wrinkled her nose in disgust before inhaling more smoke. Everything from Habit's offer and down revolted her.

"Well, the offer stands", Habit said casually before finishing his bottle and letting it drop to the ground like it was nothing. "By the way, I got an unexpected visit from that Observer guy?"

Claire furrowed her eyebrows at Habit.

"Yeah, weird. I know. He was just asking if I would have the time to go all the way to Florida, the land of the dying old fucks, to motivate some emo crybaby and a blonde bimbo to actually get some diary. I said no of course. I'm not their little bitch. They should just get it themselves. The lazy fucks".

Claire resisted the urge to chuckle since she could actually agree on that last thing.

"But he did tell me that since I was'nt going to help, they were going to motivate the emo fucker a different way".

Claire frowned. It was clear that by, 'emo fucker', he was referring to Noah Maxwell. But what about Rachel Evans , or, 'blonde bimbo', as Habit called her. From what she heard she was'nt as valued as Noah but was'nt she suppose to be a back up plan or something to get the diary when Noah failed?

Habit seemed to sense the question in Claire's mind since he then said with a huge grin,

"Let's just say Noah's getting an early surprise".


	3. Smiley Face

"So, where should we start?", Vince asked Rebecca and Jay. Since there was only three of them, Vince and Jay have been taking turns sleeping in one of the beds while one slept on in the chair while Rebecca slept in the other bed for the last couple days. If Vince had anything to say about the pair, it was that Jay seemed very paranoid since loud, sudden sounds made him a bit jumpy, while Rebecca only seemed mildly better, though she insisted to have some form of light near her, claiming it made her safe.

"Well, we could maybe see if we can find the place Amy was staying? Maybe we could go there, and see if there's a landlord and if there is ask him to let us in?", Rebecca suggested.

"No, I don't think we'll find anything there. And even if there was something useful there, the landlord would probably be there to make sure we didn't try anything", Jay said as he gave a small shake of his head making Rebecca frown. Jay looked over to Vince and asked, "hey, did you check your YouTube account? Just incase Claire posted something?"

"No, but good idea", Vince mumbled as Jay pulled open his laptop and quickly went onto YouTube and let Vince log in. But when he did, Vince looked anxious.

"What is it?", Jay asked.

"There's a video uploaded", Vince said in a low tone. "The title is a smiley face emoticon".

"And the description?", Rebecca pressed on as she started to decelope a bad feeling.

"'Yup. He's dead'", Vince quoted, though his hands seemed a bit shakey since in the thumbnail was Jeff. Both Rebecca and Jay looked uneasy, but Rebecca broke the silence and said,

"We... You don't have to watch it. Me and Jay can-"

"No. I need to know what's happened", Vince cut Rebecca off as he clicked on the video, prepaired for the worst.

* * *

_October 8th, 2012_

* * *

_Jeff could only sit silently on the small kiddies chair in the dark room as he awaited for who knows what sort of faith. A doomed one was what he guessed. The... thing behind him was still filming him. Whatever it was, Jeff had no clue, but that was'nt a bad thing._

_If he was to die, Jeff wondered what would happen. If that 'iteration theory' everyone was on about was correct, then chances were he might just be reborn somewhere else in the future, or whatever the theory was actually. If that theory was false, he hoped to be with his family again. He could picture his loving mother and father hugging him at first glance, and his younger brother Alex laughing and joking as he did when alive._

_But the sound of the door being opened broke Jeff from his thoughts as Evan- no, Habit, came into view, holding what looked like a machete._

_"Can I come in?", was all he asked, and Jeff could faintly see the mocking smile._

_"Who's behind me?", Jeff questioned as Habit entered the room._

_"Not so much of a 'who,' more of a 'what'", Habit admitted as he stepped closer. "And uh, as for what it is, hell I'm not even sure what makes it tick, but it does its job pretty well. You can consider it just a cameraman, okay?", Habit said as he gave the creature a slap on the back after it scurried to his side._

_Habit knelt down so he was face to face with Jeff. Jeff just kept a straight face, wanting to show he was'nt going to go down crying._

_"So how're we feeling?", Habit asked, like he was an adult talking down to a child. "Feeling good? Feeling sassy? No?" Habit tapped the blade on the floor before he countinued. "I can understand you being disgruntled, I can understand you being a little bit disappointed, being taken out of the game. You were close to some sort of clue or something I guess? Not really, but you were trying and that's what counts". As he said this, Habit was laughing and grinning. "See, that's what great about you, man. It's also the reason that you're gonna die._

_But, fuck it. 'Cause you're smart", Habit went on, pointing his machete at Jeff. "You're clever. Now, He fucking hates that", Habit said as he stood up again but kept eye contact on Jeff. "I love it, kind of. But see, you're a thinker. You can watch, and you learn". Habit stepped closer to Jeff and made sure the machete was close enough for Jeff to see. _

_"You figure out puzzles and shit. Evan, he's just an animal. He runs in, he doesn't care what the fuck's going on, he's an idiot. Claire, well, she's a clever bitch, but she cares too much for others so that takes over her more, but gotta give her points for not trying to bullshit herself too much. Vinnie, he's more of a leader. More of a visionary. Trying to keep everybody moving, keep the ball rolling, keep everybody together, and safe. But you", Habit pointed at Jeff with one of his fingers this time. "Y__ou want to figure it all out. But, that's not all there is to you is there? So I hope you understand that that's why we can't let you live", Habit said, in a more dark tone as her put a hand on Jeff's shoulder._

_"Why-why wait 'til now?", Jeff dared to ask as Habit turned his back to him and took a few steps away._

_"An excellent question. Again, see you're smart and shit, I love it", Habit said in a happy tone. "Why wait 'til now? How many people have you lost?", he questioned as he looked at Jeff face to face again. "How many bodies have we taken from you, mauled, torn apart? A few. More than a few. Doesn't matter. Wounds to the heart, they never heal. That's why we waited. We wanted to pulverize you. Punish you. Wanted to make you all squishy", Habit explained like it was all a joke. "It was, you could think, His attempt to break you, that stick in the mud. See He hates that He can't control you. He can control lots of people, don't know if you knew that. Not you, no. Not you, not Steph. Not Corenthal. That's why he punishes them", Habit explained, nearly growling it out._

_"Takes everything from them. Children, family, friends, pets! Well, those weren't in His department, but still. He can't get to you. Something about you, just fights it. Now, why wait 'til now? You guys are all that's left. Plus I'm real fucking impatient! And now it's my fucking turn! Now it's time to break you for real"._

_Jeff swallowed and then asked,_

_"What else do you have to take?"_

_Habit kneeled down and cut into the floor with the machete, during which he stared Jeff right in the face before asking him with an inquisitive look,_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"You said I'm broken. What else do I have?", Jeff asked, a small chuckle leaving his mouth, either from the small amount of fear he was feeling which was growing every minute or the fact that at that moment Habit seemed to contradict himself. Jeff tried to keep his breath steady as Habit leaned back up._

_"You'd be surprised at what I could take from you. People always think that when they're down and out, and when everything's gone from them, that they can fight forever. And that they can die. Whether bloody, or peaceful, doesn't matter. They think that it's all done, they think that's its all over with. You think your heart's dead?" Habit paused briefly as he countinued on. "Mostly, but not yet. You think your body's broken? Not even close. But that doesn't matter, does it? 'Cause you figure, 'I won't care. Do it. Cut me open HABIT, gut me like a fish'._

_"'Cut off my fingers, chew 'em in front of me. I won't care, won't give a shit. I won't scream, I won't beg, I won't cry', But you will'. __They always do. And in that moment, I'll be there to piss in your wounds, and to burn you alive. You think you're untouchable? Not even God can hide from me". _

_During this little speech, Jeff refussed to look at Habit, but in the end he reluctantly did just as Habit said as he pulled down on the hat on Jeff's head,_

_"By the way, I hope you like your brother's memento"._

_"Fuck you", Jeff simply said. It was all he could really do now. He doubted struggling would help. It would only end the same way if anything. He had expected Habit to react violently, but instead he just chuckled._

_"Fuck you, fuck you. Do you even know why you said that? No, no idea? Was it anger? Was it trying to get footing, trying to get leverage in this situation? Trying to make me think? See, I've interrogated a lot of people, I've hurt lots of people, tortured a lot of people, I've done lots of terrible fucking things. I've had thousands of people, millions, billions across my tables. And you'd be surprised how many do that._

_"One time, I had a guy's legs off, right?", Habit said as he made some movements with his arms. "Hanging in front of him, and I was making them dance. And he said 'fuck you'. He said 'go to hell, and fuck you'. You know why? 'Cause he felt "Got him! There's one punch I can throw, a spit in the eye, a curse to the Heavens! Fuck that little bitch!" You know how little it matters? The last curses, the last depersate calls, an insult to me. When a pig squeals before it's slaughtered, do the butchers care? No. Some of them even relish. So thanks", Habit finished off with a happy tone, smiling before he said enthusiastically._

_"You ready? 'Cause it's about to get a lot more fun in here!"_

* * *

It had been an hour since they watched the video.

Vince could only sit on the edge of one of the beds with his hands to his face. He could'nt believe that this had only happened several days ago. He felt miserable knowing one of his friends was now dead. Murdered at the hands of his other friend who was possessed. He wondered briefly if Evan was aware of this or not. If he was, it was just as bad for him since Evan would have to live with the guilt.

But Vince felt guilty too. Maybe if he had'nt gone to that damn house at Baldpoint, he could have used the missing months to find Jeff and save him.

Then there was some anger towards Corenthal for bringing him to October, but he could'nt really put too much blame on him since he wanted to believe that the doctor would'nt have let that happen if he knew it was to happen.

Jay and Rebecca were quiet as well. Both revolted and disturbed. They were'nt sure what to say but stayed quiet.

There was nothing they could say to make Vince feel better.

* * *

"Rach', I know your concerned for me, but frankly I just...", Noah trailed off and thought his next words over. Him and Rachel were both sitting at the kitchen table, and once again Rachel was asking him to reconsider his choice of not looking for the diary.

"... I just think it's better that if... I just get what's coming on my birthday".

"Noah, that's stupid", Rachel replied back. "If you die, then all of this will be for nothing!"

"Then you can try to make it right if you want", Noah muttered. "Just wait till I'm dead or whatever those fuckers have in store for me. Okay?"

"Don't have a choice since you have the damn car keys", Rachel muttered back.

"I know your mad, but... There's nothing really I can say", Noah mumbled.

"Noah, I swear to God you're an idiot", Rachel said, mostly to herself though as she held her face in her hand.

"I'm sorry", was Noah said before he leaned over the table to kiss Rachel's forehead. "This doesn't mean I don't care any less for you". Noah then stood up and walked to the front door. "I'm just going to go check and see if there's something in the mailbox".

"Right. I'm just gonna take a nap", was all Rachel said before she stood up and walked to her room. Noah side a little. He knew this was hurting Rachel, and as much as he cared for her he just felt she would have a better chance of surviving if he just let the Collective kill.

To be honest he would rather them strike him at this very moment where he stood.

When he opened the mailbox he pulled out a white envelope. It only had his name on it, but the familiar handwriting and a symbol of two intersecting eyes on the back made it obvious who it was that sent it. A month ago Noah would have been pissed off, possibly including several swear words here and there. But now, Noah was just a bit anxious as to what may be inside. His birthday wasn't for another month, so what the hell could the Observer have sent him.

Coming back inside in the entrance hall, Noah immediately opened the envelope which had a small card inside. Although reluctant, Noah held the card up from him to read as he stayed where he stood.

_'NOAH_

_'YOUR RELUCTANCE IN RETRIEVING THE DIARY OF SEBASTION GREATLY DISAPPOINTS US._

_'HOWEVER, WE ADMIRE YOUR TENACITY. TO AN EXTANT'._

Noah snorted a bit before he continued.

_'WE HAVE THOUGHT IT OVER AND DECIDED YOU NEED A LITTLE SHOVE TO START WORKING AGAIN'._

"Not going to happen", Noah muttered.

_'SO, WE HAVE DECIDED TO CANCEL OUR PLANS FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY'._

Noah stopped continuing and reread the last line. This didn't make any sense. Surely this was some sort of trick. After all the big deal they made over his birthday they were not going through with it? Lazy pricks!

_'HOWEVER, WE WILL BE TAKING RACHEL IN EXCHANGE. DON'T WORRY, WE WON'T HURT HER. WE MIGHT PLAY A FUN GAME THOUGH'._

"Tch, typical-", Noah stopped as the realization of what the letter said hit him.

"Noah! Run God damn it!" Noah looked up from the letter and moved quickly to the hall.

"Rachel?"

"Run you idi-" Rachel had just gotten outside her bedroom door when something pulled her back in. Probably by tugging on her long hair. Noah quickly ran to help, but the door seemed to slam shut on its own by the time it got there.

"Fuck! Rachel!" Noah began to bang his fists on the door and tried to push it open. He could faintly hear noise inside which made it clear Rachel was struggling against whoever it was that pulled her back inside. How he seemed to snapped out of the depressed state he was in was uncertain, but it could have had something to do with the fact that he wasn't going to die on his birthday after all.

When Noah did manage to get through the door, his heart dropped down to his stomach when he saw the room was empty, and there was no sign of Rachel.

"Fuck...", Noah mumbled as his eyes scanned the vacant room. He then glared darkly and yelled out the previous swear multiple times untill he finished off by punching a wall.


	4. A Little Talk

If Rachel was to be asked right now who it was that kidnapped her exactly, she would say that she couldn't remember. She didn't remember who it was, only that she was struggling against them when they were taking her away while she heard Noah banging on the door. There was nothing after that. Rachel felt awake, but she kept her eyes close in fear of what would await her if she were to open them. True, whenever something like this happens she and Noah usually awoke a little bit in the future, a week at most. But what if it was different this time?

Well, Rachel would have to depend on her senses to figure out where she was.

The first thing Rachel noticed was that the air felt as warm as it could be in the southern states when in was autumn and nearly winter, so she guessed that it was daytime at least. That also ruled out that she was in another dimension or world or wherever the hell the Collective lived. Moving her fingers just enough, the ground felt slightly damp, and she felt what seemed to be leaves and grass.

Rachel swallowed nervously and opened her eyes, flinching slightly from the sudden light. Once her eyes adjusted however, she could see a blue sky and clouds. She moved her eyes around and hesitantly sat up and taking a brief look behind her. She was in a forest clearing, though not one she recalled.

"Where the hell...?", Rachel mumbled to herself before she quickly searched her pockets for he phone, which to her joy was there.

However, after looking at the screen, she felt let down once she saw that there was no signal. Not even one bar.

"Damn it", she muttered as she put her phone away. But at least she knew she wasn't out for long. It was the twentieth of October, so she was only out for less than a day. Now she just had to find a way out.

Rachel looked around once more and stopped once she spotted something sticking out from the browns and dying leaves. A white note pinned to a tree. Rachel stood up slowly and walked over to the tree, pausing every now and then to look around. When she came to the tree she took the note and began to read it.

_'WE HOPE YOU HAD A PLEASANT REST RACHEL, JUST ENOUGH FOR OUR GAME TO BEGIN'._

Rachel instantly felt a sense of regret, but quickly looking back it was best to know this now then later.

_'THE GOAL OF THE GAME IS TO GET OUT OF THE FOREST BEFORE MIDNIGHT. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN YOU BEING PULLED BACK TO THE BEGINNING._

_'WE'RE SURE IT IS SOMETHING EVERYONE WILL ENJOY, AND WE'LL KEEP THIS FROM GETTING BORING._

_'READY, SET, GO!'_

At the bottom was the Observer's symbol, which was soon gone as Rachel crumbled the piece of paper in her hand before checking her watch. It was about noon. That gave her twelve hours.

"Better get started", Rachel mumbled to herself as she started walking. True, she had no idea where she was exactly, but surely it couldn't honestly take more than twelve hours to find her way out?

* * *

"Okay, so judging from the videos, I think it's safe to say that Alex is definitely dangerous, and Hoodie and Masky, i.e Tim, are on our side... I think", Jay said as he, Vince and Rebecca sat in the hotel room and discussed the videos.

"Right, but what we need to know is where exactly we go from here", Rebecca sighed. "I mean, unless it's absolutely necessary, I don't want to go to Rosswood again".

"You sure?", Vince asked. "I mean, I kinda want to check the place out myself".

"After what happened?!", Jay asked with a look of disbelief.

"I know it seems crazy, but you two have seen it more than I have and I think I need to at least see a bit more of it".

"Well, I can see where your coming from sort of, but we're not letting you".

"It's fucking suicide!", Rebecca added in after Jay.

"But obviously there might be something important in there if it's dangerous!"

"You think that did'nt already occur to us?", Rebecca questioned Vince with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I did'nt really mean it like that, but there's something there we need to see it".

"Well, what if I got someone else to go with me?", Vince asked.

"No. We're not not dragging more people into this. This is our problem", Jay said seriously. Vince frowned but an idea came to him when he remembered a couple friends.

"What if it was someone in a similar situation?"

Rebecca and Jay both paused to think this over, though they were hesitant to answer. Vince sighed as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Look, I know these two in Florida. They're having it pretty rough. And, well I also need to get some tapes I found at Claire's house so maybe I could make a quick trip back to Jersey, pick the tapes up and check if Noah and Rachel want in?"

"...if you think it'll help", Jay mumbled. "But, I still don't think this is a good idea".

"I'll just ask them and if they don't agree that's that", Vince promised.

"...Well, okay then. Why not". Rebecca hesitantly nodded. "If they want to, sure".

* * *

"Fuck!" Rachel was'nt sure how this was happening, but she was sure she passed the same tree five times now, either coming from one direction or another. Those Collective bastards must be doing this on purpose! Typical! Though deep down Rachel had to admit it would be silly to think they would'nt pull some sort of trick. That was like asking Noah not to swear for a few minutes.

With that in mind, Rachel was wondering what Noah was doing. Rachel doubted Noah would'nt look for her, but in all fairness she did'nt know where she was even so that would be problematic. Then there was also the possibility that Noah was letting his frustration out on something, and possibly a bit angtsy. After he got over that, he would probably try to figure out where she was... At least that's what Rachel hoped.

Rachel looked at her watch and bit her lip when she saw it was nearly four. Sure she still had about eight hours, but since her path seemed to be changing now and then, it was worrying. Looking at the trees, an idea occured to her and Rachel went to the nearest tree with branches and slowly started to climb up it. She figured if she got up as high as possible, she could have an idea of where she should go. It was reasonable enough in her mind.

However, just as she was halfway up, her grip slipped which forced Rachel to succumb to gravity and fall, much to her honest luck, a bush which did cushion her fall.

"God... damn it", Rachel groaned in frustration. She briefly considered trying again, but decided it was possible not a good idea for now. Instead, all she could do is keep walking.

* * *

"Well, this is... an unexpected turn of events", muttered a man with burns covering him as he stood in the burned remains of a hospital room. He was looking out of a window space where glass once stood but was nothing more but shambles on the ground.

"Do you think it happened because of your plan? Are they on to you?", questioned his dirty blonde companion, clutching the ragged make-shift cloak around her body tighter as she looked back, feeling a sense of paranoia that they would be ambushed at any minute.

"I don't know. But we're going to have to be more careful. I don't know what will happen if we're caught, but I don't think we want to know".

"But, couldn't they already know?"

"... It's hard to say. Time always changes. We'll just... have to see how things will play out". They were silent for a while, listening out for anything and hearing a bird chirping in the distance, and a faint sound of wind.

"... This isn't what's suppose to happen", the woman mumbled, looking behind again. "This isn't what happened. I was never-"

"Calm down", the man ordered calmly. "I know, we both know, but they're pissed at Noah and Rachel, and they could be on to our plan, so all we can do is just see what Noah's choice will be".

"So, do you think he'll accept Vince's offer?"

"It would probably be for the best he did".

"And if not?"

"The both of us will have to persuade him". The woman didn't miss the small smirk that briefly appeared on the man's lips.

"And after that, assuming Noah does go with them, it'll be Jay, Rebecca, Vince and Noah", the girl counted up. "Okay, and what should we do about Habit? Or Witch?"

"Habit's a childish bastard, but he can be smart at times. He probably already knows where Vince is. As for Witch, I've heard the Administrator is having her go there".

"...There's a new person though they'll need to look out for, right? Some sort of crazed killer?"

"From what I know he and Habit met and our getting along as well as two murderers can", he answered back.

"Hmp".

"... How long do you think Rachel will last in her game?" The man turned to look back at the woman. She should know best out of everyone after all.

"Well, you were the only one keeping my sanity together. When they took you I was a wreck and when they did their mind games on me in that forest it took a couple days", she murmured. "But, Rachel knows Noah is alive and well... ish. That should keep her mind together a lot better then I ever could".

"I see". The man looked towards the sky and saw how quickly it was becoming dark. "We may as well leave now. It's getting dark".

"Alright", the woman agreed, nodding her head before she turned around.

"Wait". She turned back as her companion walked up to her. "I'm have to go check on something. You go on ahead. I'll be with you shortly, Pierrot", he said before kissing her forehead.

"Okay. Just don't do anything rash, Firebrand".

* * *

What little light Rachel could get from the moon didn't help her read her watch too well, but it was definitely getting late, and it made her anxious that she would not be out before midnight. What exactly would happen to her then? It was something Rachel did not like to think about. If her phone had a signal she probably would have used it to get on the internet and figure out where she was.

Rachel took a sharp intake of breath as she stumbled a bit and barely kept herself from falling down. She looked behind her and could make out a branch on the ground being the possible culprit.

Walking again, Rachel rubbed her arms to warm herself up. Had she known this was going to happen, she would not have worn a light fabric shirt.

Rachel walked past a familiar puddle, possibly for the third time and spat into it. She felt one or two insects accidently fly into her mouth and the taste was terrible. When she looked away from the puddle she felt her jaw drop a little.

While still in the woods, she could see a carpark some distance away. Rachel didn't bother to check her watch and quickly ran, unaware her time was nearly up.

_Five..._

She was so close.

_Four..._

She could make it.

_Three..._

She would go out there, and find help.

_Two..._

She would call Noah and tell him she was alright.

_One..._

And then-

Suddenly, something grabbed her ankles and Rachel fell flat on her face. Her eyes widened as she reached out for the tarmac of the carpark. Just half an inch away! But the distance became longer when Rachel felt herself being slowly pulled away.

"NO! NO, NO, NO!", she shrieked, trying to cling to the ground. She had an idea of what was pulling her back, but she didn't dare to look. As she was pulled back, she felt herself become a little light headed, and before passing out, she thought she heard the words,

"Better luck tomorrow".

* * *

**Sorry I took so long to update. I hope this makes up for the wait.**


End file.
